weekend." we continue following breaking news from the middle east. the brutal regime of the bassar al assad is over. today syrians entered the presidential palace in damascus and celebrated in the streets across the country. this after a coalition of syrian militant groups toppled the syrian government breaking through a stalemate in the nation's 13-year civil war. russia confirms assad has left

the country. and gave up the presidency. ordering a peaceful transition of power. nbc news has not confirmed assad's departure or where he might be. by declaring victory, the rubble groups put an end to the assad family decades long regime in syria. joining us now from tel aviv, correspondent raf sanchez. raf, what is next for the syrian people? what are you hearing and seeing out there that gives some indication of what comes next? >> reporter: well, michael, i could tell you there is a lot of hope in syria right now. this is been a 13-year long bloody civil war, half a century of dictatorship by the assad regime and this is a new chapter. this coalition of rebel groups is saying that they plan to govern for all of the syrian people. that this is not a government of

revenge, of retribution, but this is a government that is seeking unity, that wants to have good relationships with its neighbors, that wants those millions and millions of displaced syrians who went overseas to europe and beyond to come home. and to come home in safety. that doesn't mean that people aren't concerned, as we've talked about, the main rebel group hts is a group that has its origins in al qaeda. it is an islamist group. it is considered a terrorist organization by the united states. but it is really, really trying hard to project an image of moderation. just to give you a sense of the scale of emotion in syria, i want to introduce to you a man called ab dell. i've known him for about ten years, he was an english teacher in aleppo and i remember saying good-bye to him on the phone because i was convinced that he and his family were going to be

killed as the assad regime forces closed in on eastern aleppo. he was not killed. he made it to the countryside and i want to play you his reaction from the early hours of this morning when he learned the news that the assad regime had been toppled. take a listen. >> now you can sleep. and think of tomorrow. now we can sleep knowing that justice is achieved. now i can understand that my children must be raised under oppression. only now i can say that we're free, syria, we're free people. >> reporter: and cradling his young son there saying that his

children will not grow up under oppression and that this morning they are living in a free syria. that is what these vast geopolitical events there. >> when we talk about the moderation of hts. what are world leaders looking for to sort through what gelani means in word and what he means in deed. >> it is a good question, alicia. so a couple ever early indications, one, how will they treat minority groups in syria. we saw how isis, a more extreme islamist organization, carried out massive crimes against shia, christians and yazidis. so a kind of canary in the coal mine will be hds, which is a sunni islamist group, will they treat the minority communities

with respect. and we should say in the less than two weeks that they have been searching across western syria, there have not so far anyway been reports of large scale sectarian violence committed by hts. that is one of the early indications. other indication is how will they treat their neighbors, especially israel. a lot of concern in this country right now about hts, prime minister netanyahu surging forces to the golan heights and so what kind of relationship this new syria wants with the world will also be one of those tests. >> raf sanchez in tella chief. thank you. joining us now, john brennan, a senior national security and intelligence analyst. >> good to see you. so, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu released a statement saying, quote, this is a historic day in the history of

the middle east. the assad regime is a central link in iran's access of evil. this regime has fallen. this is a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on hezbollah. this has created a chain reaction throughout the middle east. although those who wanted to be free from the oppressive and tear antical regime. in light of the video we just saw from raf and his friend holding his little son saying that his baby boy will now be raised under -- not under oppression. what does the fall of the syrian government mean as we could see what it means to someone who lives there, the people on the ground. but what does it mean now for the government in the region? and the alliances on both sides as they assess what happens

next? >> well, michael, there is tremendous celebration as a result of the fall of the assad regime which has been a ruthless and brutal regime for well over half a century. so therefore there is a feeling there is a new day dawning in syria and i think there is great uncertainty as far as what the future holds but for now people are celebrating. in the region, this is an immediate setback to iran, to hezbollah and to russia. the assad regime, damascus has been a very close partner and ally to those countries. and they have allowed assad to repulse a lot of this rebellion that started in january of 2011 and the successful toppling of the regime is a culmination of these efforts over the past number of years by a various collection of groups. some of them extremists,

islamist and some of them secular. but what hts has done under the leadership of gelani, have been able to bring those groups together and to stop the in-fighting that did inhibit their ability to make more progress against the assad regime over the years. so again, as premised and netanyahu said, this is a historic turning point. we don't know what is coming forward. hoping that we're going to see some moderation of the policies that have been the hallmark of some of these groups that have fallen under the hts umbrella. but again, what we've seen over the last year or two, certainly in the areas of syria that the hts has controlled, there has not been any type of brutal suppression of minority groups. so i think people are hoping for the best, but also i think there is great concern about how this could unravel as the hts tries

to assume then the reins of government in damascus. >> there have been two different breaking news, what was said by netanyahu and also this from putin's press secretary, we have read the statement that donald trump delivered. russia is open to negotiations on ukraine. i wonder what you make of that timing both in relation to the meeting we saw trump, macron and zelenskyy and also what we're watching unfold in syria. >> i think vladimir putin sees new policies as a result of the change in the presidential administration and donald trump has made it very clear that he wants to reduce u.s. engagement and involvement in various parts of the world. and has raised serious concerns about what is the future of ukraine. so, i think putin recognizes that donald trump is a deal maker. he's not driven by principles,

not driven by traditional american values and also i think putin recognized that trump doesn't understand a lot of the intricacies of the geopolitical landscape that the united states really is the key and leading country of the western world. so, i think there is a lot of folks who are just concerned now, certainly in europe and other areas what the trump administration may be vis-a-vis ukraine. but putin has a more pliable partner in washington that will be taking over the government in january. >> mr. director, there has been a lot of talk in last few hours obviously about what is happening on the ground in syria and what that may mean in the region and geopolitically. we have -- we're in the transition of presidential administrations. the trump administration is coming in, he is proposed tulsi

gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. i don't want to get you into the politics of that at the moment, but i want to focus on the intering aspect of the job itself. and the requirements of the job, in that is seems to me that both the russian government as well as our own, a little bit surprises about what happened here. the intelligence that, you know, tells us, oh, there is something bubbling. didn't seem to come through and maybe it did and folks are letting it play out. this speaks to the importance of having someone capable and competent and trustworthy with that kind of intelligence. what is your assessment of how this played out -- has played out for our intelligence communities and what this may mean for our particular intelligence going forward? >> well clearly there was a very

fast unraveling of the situation in syria. the government forces pulling back and basically collapsing which allowed hts so then prevail. an sometimes it is difficult for intelligence agencies to detect that. i think we saw that over the last self weeks. but this is where the experience and expertise of the intelligence community, particularly the leadership of the intelligence community is so critical on so many fronts. the direct of national intelligence is the person who orchestrates the activities of 18 intelligence agencies and departments. the director of national intelligence is the person who is responsible for pulling together the president's daily brief. this is the daily document that goes to the president and senior officials. and so you want to have somebody there who is going to be objective, who is going to tell truth to power, and is not going to be trying to color the intelligence as a way to curry favor with whoever is in the oval office. so, whether we're talking about the middle east and the changing

landscape there, ukraine, china, russia, so many issues around the globe, this is where you really need to have individuals who have the leadership credentials an the capabilities an the integrity to carry out the intelligence mission which is so important to the united states and national security and future prosperity. >> former cia director, john brennan. >> next, eve yet clarke joins our conversation. this is "the weekend" on msnbc. this is "the weekend" on msnbc whoa! how'd you get your teeth so white? you gotta use the right toothpaste! dr. c?! ♪♪ not all toothpastes whiten the same. crest 3d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile. new personal best. crest.

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the crisis in syria raising major questions about the future of u.s. foreign policy under donald trump. the u.s. has approximately 900 troops on ground in syria and provided $12 billion in humanitarian assistance in the region since the start of the crisis. more than a billion dollars in stabilization efforts since 2011 according to state department. now world leaders are waiting to see if that could all chapg with republicans about to be in

control in washington. joining from new york, yvette d. clarke from the congressional black caucus. >> good morning, and congratulations, all the best in the new role. herding cats coming to mind but you know what that is all about. >> yes. >> on a very serious point, i want to share with you nbc news reporting this morning. quote, the united states will continue its operations in eastern syria and take all necessary steps to prevent the islamic state resurgence and danny shapiro announced today. what role do you see the u.s. playing now as the game is changing on the ground there? you had president-elect trump this morning basically saying china and russia you handle it. haven't heard anything from the biden administration.

what do you assess is going to happen next or should happen next? >> well, i don't know what is going to happen next. but i believe that what should happen next is that the united states can't remain on the sidelines. at the end of the day, you know, terrorism is terrorism. and if we are not vigilant with respect to this new development in syria, we can be creating a hornet's next. it is always important for the united states to pursue democratic values and to assist those who are of like mind. the syrian people want freedom and my hope is that they will pursue a democratic pathway to governance going forward. and that they don't enable

terrorist organizations to commandeer the governance of the people. at the end of the day, they were fleeing from their ruler because of his heavy handedness. so i don't believe that the u.s. should be at all on the sidelines. we must engage. >> congresswoman, in the last hour we had your colleague on homeland security committee congressman eric swalwell on with us and asked if you have received a classified briefing and he said you had not and anticipated that would come on monday when you returned to the hill. what questions will you have, specifically as you attempt to assess whether or not hts is moderating as they say they are. >> yeah, i think it is going to be important for us to get a briefing on what knew and when we knew it. who the leadership is and what their backgrounds are. it is important for us to unpack this so that we are engaging

with as much intelligence as possible. and, again, looking at how the congress can bolster the work that has to come out of the executive branch in order to make sure that there is stability going forward. so it is challenging. there is no doubt about it. but that is our role in the world and i think that we need to maintain that integrity. >> congresswoman, let' bring the questions closer to home, a little bit more in your backyard. you are prepared to assume the leadership of the black caucus as the black chronicle notes. clarke now steps in as the caucus prepared for the largest in history. clarke as tenure will focus on combatting civil rights and ensuring economic health care and educational opportunities for black americans. this historic transition marks a

significant moment for the cbc as it remains at the forefront of the nation. so, the realities of what is happening in foreign policy, certain domestic policy, offers an opportunity under your new leadership for the black caucus to play an elevated role. how do you see that role in matters of state and foreign affairs as members of congress? because oftentimes i'll be straight up, african american representation in the house by a lot of people outside, that has nothing to do with hud so don't talk about it. you know. >> and ironically, enough, michael, the two ours that you just spoke about, with respect to security, are headed by cbc members. ranking member bennie thompson heads up the homeland security committee and ranking member gregory meeks heads up the

foreign affairs committee. so our finger is always on the pulse of what is taking place on capitol hill, both domestically and internationally. when you talk about hud, now you're talking about congresswoman maxine waters, of financial services ranking member. we have the largest number of cbc members in the history of the united states in the legislative body. and members are on every committee of jurisdiction. in addition to having four members in the united states senate. two of whom are flu to new to t and are cbc members. i expect that we'll cover all subject matter, however we will be focused on the impact of people of african decent. we'll be focused on advancing legislation that helps the human condition with the focus on the black communities across this

nation. >> congresswoman, this from politico, your mayor eric adams not ruling out a switch to the gop saying cancel me, the mayor is set to sit down with tom ho mavn to talk about places to deport undocumented immigration migrants and he would focus on any federal plan who have committed serious crimes. that is where we see the municipal and the federal collide. we know that there are other blue state governors, blue state mayors who are saying they're going to hold the line on some of the policies of this incoming administration. do you think you're going to be able to work with mayor adams to do just that? >> it is my hope. it is my hope that, you know, he will see the virtue in what we have witnessed. in terms of the draconian measures that are taking -- that the trump administration has taken in the past. new yorkers are no stranger to

donald trump and him executing on very harsh and cruel immigration policy. as a matter of fact, right here in the 9th district of new york, in the last trump administration, we saw i.c.e. officers for the first time patrolling local communities, and that is been unheard of. and, so, we want to make sure that our mayor, mayor eric adams, stays true to the values of the people of the city of new york. which is the gateway, which is always been the portal for migrants to the united states of america. we have the statue of liberty in our harbor. we have ellis island in our harbor. so we understand what it is when people risk everything to live out their american dream. >> congresswoman, yvette clarke, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me.

next we turn to our other big story of the morning. frank figliuzzi joins us to discuss the ongoing manhunt for the killer of the united health care ceo. this is "the weekend." ceo this is "the weekend." (children speaking) conflict is raging across the world, and millions of children's lives are being devastated by war, hunger, disease and poverty. we urgently need your help to reach children in crisis. please call or go online to give just $10

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more breaking news now. brand-new clue this is morning in the days long manhunt for the killer of a health care -- health care insurance ceo. the nypd has released these new images of person being sought in wednesday's early morning shooting of united health care ceo brian thompson. the person appears to be wearing a black hoodie and a blue medical face mask. and we've learned bizarre details about a gray backpack founds by officials in the park and believed to be connected to the shooter. the bag contained a jacket and monopoly money. authorities have yet to release any identifying information about the shooter.

but they do believe the person has left new york by bus. mayor eric adams told reporters yesterday that the net is tightening. >> the manner in which they were able to follow his footsteps, to recover evidence on some of it is known and some is unknown but the net is tightening and we're going to bring this person to justice. >> joining you now, senior national security analyst frank figliuzzi, he's former assistant director for counterintelligence at the fbi. frank, welcome. this story has all kinds of elements and aspects that i've sure for someone like you, because i'm reading your latest book and having a good time with it, by the way. >> thank you. >> of sort of pieces together the details is always the tricky part. you got the nypd, which is the biggest and most expensive police department in the

country, and according to them, their fiscal 2028 preliminary financial plan includes a budget of $5.8 billion to, you know, deal a lot of things that are going on. how is this suspect able to slip through? i mean, i know it is not about the money or the size of the budgets, but what does it say about the technology, the man power, and the process that this guy has been able to even with the facial photo that we have, been able to do what he's been able to do, slip out of the city, and now presumably somewhere between here and wherever. >> so, thus far, he's been able to defeat all of the high technology that we all keep talking about, right. we know that in manhattan, you're on camera almost all of the time with various businesses

and governmental cameras. the police have access and link all of those security cameras together and could go realtime with that. it is true for many american cities and world cities. we have facial recognition, we've got dna and fingerprinting. all of that has been defeated so far by a guy who wore a mask, wore a hoodie, tried not to expose himself, paid cash for things so he's kind of off the grid in a very modern high-tech environment, took the greyhound bus which reminds me of the unibomber case, he took the bus to deliver all of his bombs. it took 20 years for the unibomber to be apprehended. and-n then in the summer olympics, they went into the deep woods and talk about five years to find him. so he's been able to defeat the high-tech that we've got and now could literally be off the grid. but i have a theory here.

after listening twice now to mayor adams' statement yesterday, at a p.a.l. opening in harlem, he's telling us they know who this guy is. they don't want to -- we don't want to reveal his identity, because we don't want to give him that advantage. but in a sense, adams has given him the advantage by announcing we know who he is. so we can't have the photos up without your friends and colleagues saying, i know who that is and he's been talking about the insurance issues. so they know who he is. what perplexes me is why they're not just blanketing photos everywhere from his -- if you know somebody and they're identity, you've got their social media photos and driver's license photos. put it up. i believe in crowd sourcing and we're not there yet. >> the backpack that had monopoly money and a jacket in it, what you make of that. and then also talk to me about how the fbi decides what the

dollar amount is on a reward like this. $50,000 as yet as far as we know to render details on this killer. >> yeah. 50,000 from the fbi, 10,000 from nypd and yet it is not working for people. the backpack, if indeed it is confirmed that it is his. then we have a serious situation on our hands. why do i say that. he's messing with us. he's got monopoly money and he's saying this is about money. if you're going to seal this, you've got paper money, you've got fake money. so this is someone that could be very calculating if that's his backpack and now we're in an activist situation. there is another position to this. if this goes on, he could become a cultural hero, look at all of the people to be happy that someone has taken out an insurance health care ceo because of their own what law e

need is a hero on the loose because then he really won't get public assistance. >> so that raises a very important and i think somewhat sobering point. you've got reporting united health care ceo killing spurs -- to hold and pull executive photos and the killing of brian thompson spurred big medicaid insurer centene to not hold an in person exchange and united health group removed photos of executives and board members from their websites. what does this say, what does -- to your point, you've got people out here, i say behaving ugly in terms of responding to someone's killing the way they have, and yet it does send this chilling

effect, has this chilling effect on how these companies, these health care companies are now placed in a cross hairs in a way that is dangerous. and very problematic. how do you see those companies responding? what should be the coordinating effort, if any, between law enforcement and those companies with respect to how they go about safeguarding their employees and their leadership? >> yeah, this has been a wake-up call particularly within the insurance industry for corporate security executives. after i retired from the fbi, i became a corporate security executive for one of the largest companies in the world. a fortune 10 company at the time. and i could tell you, investors meeting, shareholders meetings are security challenges, people could come in and rant and rave and do far worse but throughout the corporate security world, they are putting details on ceos

who never wanted a security detail. that is a very common ideology, by the way. hey, i don't know it and i don't want it and as bad optics, but don't be armed god forbid we have to shoot somebody. and that is changing and then they are going virtual on meetings so they don't have to do this in person. it is really a wake-up call. >> frank figliuzzi, thank you for being with us this morning. next, more on the breaking news in the middle east. the collapse of syria's government. this is "the weekend." this is "the weekend." for more than a decade farxiga has been trusted again and again, and again. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ ask your doctor about farxiga.

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the conflict in syria putting renewed focus on donald trump's picks to lead the u.s. government. specifically his selection for director of intelligence. tulsi gabbard has consistently defended president assad's regime and as traveled to meet with limb in the past. there is also questions surrounding former fox heft pete hegseth. he's been accused of concerning drinking and sexual assault. joining us now, rick stengel. >> good morning to you, rick. >> good morning. >> so you have this reporting out of politico, about the zelenskyy-macron meeting yesterday. trump was late to it and everybody is all smiles, noting macron achieved a diplomatic milestone hosting the first meeting between volodymyr zelenskyy and united states president-elect donald trump since he won the election in

november. interesting combination of forces coming together. and then syria happens overnight. which then raises up the question and puts the spotlight on not just this meeting, but trump's leveling up his cabinet and the leadership, tulsi gabbard as director of national intelligence. pete hegseth at d.o.d. give us your assessment of what these two pieces in this tri-lateral relationship between france is the center of this conversation, and russia and ukraine, the united states, how do these pieces fit when you've got potential leadership in the united states putting out folks like, you know, tulsi and hegseth, who come with severe baggage in the national security

space. >> good morning, michael, i'm trying to keep all of those balls in my head now. >> i i wanted to get it all in. it is been that kind of morning, you know. >> okay. i'm going to do a tour of the horizon then. first of all, it is a good thing that bashar al assad is gone and his government is gone. he was most ruthless dictator and mass murderer on the planet. the fact that the nominee for the director of national intelligence went to see him is just seriously appalling. the downfall of his regime is bad news for the russians. it is bad news for the iranians. the folk replacing him, al sham, as we called him in the state department, is a long time terrorist group and ally of al qaeda. they fought against the u.s. in iraq.

they broke with al qaeda in 2016. but what we've seen during this terrible civil war in syria is that they've been pannaging to governing in the north of the country. they've been pretty tolerant toward thealo white minority and the government was a shiite minority in syria, and new guys are islamist sunni and but they're syrians and they're not going to be involved in a global jihad. that is good news. you know, michael, as you've probably said a thousand times, as often as i have, elections have consequences. so what you have in france and ukraine is them recognizing the fact that donald trump is in power. and he has a different view of these places than the biden administration. and they -- dealing with the

united states, it is in some ways most important of almost every country's growing policy. certainly that is true of france and ukraine. >> so, we've been talking about syria. this is bigger and has implications for the entire region. rick, you have prime minister netanyahu just this morning taking some time visiting in the golan heights where, of course, you have the israeli military bolstering their forces there in light of what is happening in syria. what does this mean for israel? what does it mean for gaza, what does it mean for the region more generally? >> well, you know, bibi netanyahu, never lets a crisis go to waste. the golan heights is a strategic part of syria which israel captured in the 1967 war when syria invaded does a surprise invasion of israel. it became next to israel in 1981. it is not recognized by the u.n.

and other powers but it is a big strategic advantage for netanyahu. netanyahu is looking at this as this kind of reordering of the middle east which could be to israel's benefit. he signed the abraham accords with the first trump administration which normized relationships between israel and uae and baja rain. and this is another step in the process. but the flaw in that was that israel never made a deal with the palestinians and they desperately want to have a deal with the saudis, but through these two wars that are going on now, the saudis said, look, we're not going to recognize israel until there is a two-state solution. so i mean, who knows what would happen. that would be a smart route but he hasn't given any indication he's going in that direction. >> so you have president-elect trump this morning releasing a statement that essentially said, you know, this is not something that the u.s. should bother

itself with, we're not going to engage russia. you could come in and china, maybe you could help russia. what is your assessment of that potentialality coming to fruition in the beginning of the next trump term where they have a take a hands off approach of what is happening in syria and the ripple effect of that and allowing russian china to sort of shape middle eastern policy and -- and quite honestly, how the parties behave in that region. >> it is an interesting idea. and in fact, michael, it really was syria that allowed the russians to get back into the middle east. the middle east was -- the u.s. and russia were in conflict in the middle east during the cold war. then the united states basically dominate and in the post arab spring middle east, it was all

about the u.s. and relationships around the middle east. the civil war in syria gave russia an opportunity to get back into the middle east. i think that was a flaw in the obama administration. but, now, you know, with syria, i mine and the new guys haven't said what they're do about russia. but russia is locked out of a new dispenization in the middle east. china could spend a lot of money but it does sort of restore american hedge em onny in the middle east if the trump administration wants to take advantage of that and would you take advantage of that to negotiate a kind of peace agreement everywhere. that would be -- that would be what i could try to do. >> very interesting. rick stangel, thank you very much. appreciate you. >> good to see you. still a lot more ahead. we still have more in the cup here. this is "the weekend." cup here this is "the weekend."

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my friend, from the incoming president's interview with our colleague kristin welker on "meet the press" about would he's going to fire and not going to fire. these are the things that i found most interesting. and emphasis on deporting those in the u.s. legally but wants a deal for dreamers. this -- the most -- given the time line here, first day action to end birth right citizenship and pardon january 6ers, what does that tell you about the priorities of this incoming administration. >> this is priorities that he said were his priorities. he's never hidden that he's going to pardon january 6 and all of the democrats who are wining and bemoaning hunter biden's pardon, he was always going to do that. he told you that a year ago he was going to do that. so why are you crying about joe biden's pardon of his son. so, again, this idea that trump -- the behavior of others

dictates trump's actions. and that in terms of giving him permission to do things is just silly, stupid conversation. get your head in the game, folks, if you're going to survive in the next four years and understand what you're dealing with. so that is what that tells me, number one. and number two, we're going to help the dreamers so we're going to eliminate birth right citizenship. what is the public policy thinking there. >> and it is sweet that you think it is rooted in policy, rooting in anything other than stephen miller -- >> you know, i'm sorry, it is a fault to be a kind of a little policy wonk guy who believe that's public policy does matter at the end of the day and should be connected to something real like human beings. any way, and of course, january 6. and it is consistent. since your elevating criminals, to positions ever power, why not free the rest of them. right.

i mean, that is what we're talking about here. so, you know, folks, welcome to new america. where criminality doesn't matter, sexual predators doesn't matter, your control of women's bodies doesn't matter. all of the things that, you know, folks once valued are not valued by this incoming administration. >> but, remember, michael, criminality matters if you are a refugee desperately seeking safety and security in this country. then, of course, the criminality suddenly matters. and this is a reminder to me of, it is such a grab bag of ideas and policies and part of what is heartbreaking is that people's lives hang in the balance. people are looking to say, give me a sense of what the next four years are going to look like. and that is very difficult when, as you said, there are times when you take him at his word and there are times when his own statements conflict.

>> yeah. but, alicia, the price of eggs. the price of eggs. i'm sorry. >> and on that note, that does it for "the weekend," this very busy sunday morning. thank you for being with us. we'll see you back here next saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern and follow us on social media at the weekend msnbc. velshi continues our coverage after this break. continues our after this break it's the easiest call you can make. call 833.leaf.filter today, or visit leaffilter.com.

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